Holocene
by Clariele
Summary: 'And at once, I knew - I was not magnificent.' I, Claire Shaw, have dreams of being the greatest Tactical Officer Starfleet has ever seen.
1. Chapter 1

The soft pitter patter of rain on the window gently caused me to awaken. I did not immediately rise from my bed – instead, I burrowed more deeply into the nest of blankets that surrounded me, making the most of the warmth they provided for a few further minutes until my chronometer began to beep insistently.

"Okay, okay... I'm awake," I muttered, reluctantly leaving my haven of warmth and padding quickly into the bathroom. Stripping off my nightwear, I stretched briefly before programming a quick shower, stepping under the hot jets of water and sighing as I relaxed. I quickly washed my body and hair, mentally cataloguing everything that I had arranged ready for the day ahead.

The water stopped all too soon; shivering as a blast of cold air from the slightly opened bathroom window hit me, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself, lamenting the fact that this would be my last time in this room. Shaking my head at my sentimentality, I quickly dried myself and proceeded to dry my hair before heading back to my room.

A neatly packed bag and a folded outfit sat waiting at the foot of my bed. The bag held all of the belongings I would require from home for the journey ahead; the outfit was what I deemed to be sensible travelling attire. Travelling from continent to continent via shuttle was an uncomfortable experience, and so I had compensated accordingly – the outfit consisted of a light jacket, a plain vest top and a pair of shorts that reached to mid-thigh, along with a pair of sandals. Nothing too heavy or too light – I had a long journey ahead of me. I was to catch the shuttle from Bristol, England, to New York, America, and from there catch another shuttle to Iowa and from there finally get another shuttle to San Francisco, to Starfleet Academy.

There was a much easier way to have gone about getting there, but I wished to see the partially built USS Enterprise before I continued to the Academy and besides, Captain Pike would be at the shipyard with the shuttle. I was long overdue for a visit to him, so it was only logical to go a bit out of my way to see him. He was, after all, my main motivation for joining Starfleet in the first place.

Picking up my hairbrush, I began to run it through my hair as I glanced quickly at the chronometer.

"Shit," I cried, abandoning my attempt at brushing my hair as I grabbed my clothes and threw them on. I was running a good 20 minutes late, and if I missed this shuttle I had no chance of getting anywhere near the Academy or Chris Pike any time this year!

I took a final look around my little room as I slung my bag onto my shoulder and quickly secured my hair into a messy bun before leaving the place and closing the door behind me. Locking the front door of my flat as I left, I hurried out of the building and down the street to my aunt's house. Sealing the keys to the flat into an envelope I'd already prepared, I posted them through the door of her house before sprinting towards the shuttle station and my new future.

Two long shuttle journeys later, I looked distinctly the worse for wear when I arrived in Iowa. I was staying in a small hotel in Riverside, close to the shipyard and to Pike. My plan was to spend the next day with him before the shuttle for the Academy left the day afterwards, and I was very much looking forward to it – Pike was a father figure to me. He was someone who I admired greatly and I was much saddened by the fact that I had not been able to see him for a couple of years.

Arriving at my hotel room, I quickly threw my clothes down the chute to be cleaned before having a quick sonic shower to cleanse the grime from the journey from my skin before pulling on a nightgown and jumping into bed. I grabbed my PADD from my bag to check for any messages and was pleased to find a couple. One was from my aunt telling me that she'd gotten my keys and hoping that I would have a fantastic time at the Academy, and another was from Chris telling me he'd meet me in the lobby of the hotel the next morning to take me out to breakfast. I quickly tapped out basic replies to both messages before falling asleep, knackered from my journey.

The next morning, I woke up and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from my bag before hurrying downstairs to meet Chris. On entering the lobby, I was pleased to find him waiting for me, looking marginally older than when I'd seen him last.

"Chris! Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again," I grinned, hugging him.

"Claire, it's been way too long. I honestly thought I'd never see you again until you called me to tell me you'd passed the admission exam to the Academy!" he replied, ruffling my hair before extracting himself from my hold. "Now, I believe I promised you breakfast? It wouldn't do to keep a lady waiting now, would it?" he asked, before ushering me out of the hotel and along to a small cafe nearby.

We spent the day laughing and joking away, catching up on what the other had been up to for the last couple of years. Being so close to someone high up in Starfleet certainly had its merits; I wouldn't be using our connection as a way of rising through the ranks more quickly – I didn't want anyone to know of our connection at all, something that Chris was completely in agreement with – but it was nice to have someone giving impartial advice as to what classes to take, what bars to go to, what gym membership to get. I was sad to say goodbye to him at the end of the day, as I knew it was the last time we'd be able to spend together in such a manner – in future we'd have to keep up appearances of not knowing each other outside of the Academy.

Chris dropped me back off at my hotel late that night, as we'd been out for dinner and had lost track of time. He had to go check on some of the new cadets who'd decided to hit an out of town bar for the night, as he had a slight suspicion they'd get into some trouble. I hugged him goodbye and then headed back to my room to find my travelling outfit folded on my bed, ready for the next day, along with a new message on my PADD from my aunt again. After replying, I headed straight to bed, not bothered about showering. I could do that in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

A quiet buzzing from my PADD woke me up bright and early the next morning. I rolled out of bed and had a quick sonic shower before getting dressed in my shorts and vest combo and taking the time to put a little makeup on; I may have only been taking a transport to the Academy but I wanted the first impression I made on some of my fellow cadets to be a good one, and that included making an effort. Pulling my hair into a bun and shouldering my bag again, I checked out of the hotel and grabbed a transport to the shipyard.

The sight of the Enterprise being built was awe-inspiring. She was the main reason I'd decided to enlist in Starfleet – the idea that I could possibly serve on something so majestic, so beautiful... it took my breath away. She still had a fair way to go yet, but I knew that eventually I would be a member of her crew.

Approaching the shuttle for new recruits, I gave Chris a small nod, to which he returned a smile.

"Good luck kid... you're gonna need it," he muttered quietly as I stepped on board the shuttle, looking around for a spare seat. From the quick glances I gave my fellow cadets, it seemed that Chris' feeling that there was trouble the night before was correct – a few of them looked slightly battered and another had his wrist in some sort of fabric cast. I chuckled quietly and rolled my eyes as I continued to hunt for a seat. The only one I could see was between a uniformed cadet and 2 un-uniformed cadets, one of which seemed to have blood down his front. Wincing slightly at the thought of having to sit next to him, I began to lower myself into the seat when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey, miss that's my seat!" I bit my lip and looked up at the cadet whose space I'd inadvertently stolen.

"Oh, I do apologise, I didn't realise anyone was sitting here... would you like me to move?" I said quietly, looking up at him. "I'll find somewh-"

"No, miss, it's fine... you keep sitting there, I'll find somewhere else. It's rude to make a lady move!" With a grin and a wink, he moved off to find a seat elsewhere in the crowded shuttle. Sighing in relief, I relaxed back into the seat.

The shuttle soon took off for San Francisco, and I felt like I was about to doze off in my seat when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I turned to see the bloodied guy next to me sporting a grin and leaning towards me conspiratorially.

"Hey, are you okay? If you're scared you can always hold my hand..." He winked at me cockily.

"Thanks, but no thanks... Besides, I usually prefer guys who don't look like half their blood is stained on their shirts. It's not really a good look," I commented shifting away from him slightly.

"You prefer pretty boys like old Bones here? Wouldn't have expected that. You probably couldn't handle me anyway, miss...?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he turned to face me more fully.

Smirking, I reached across him to jokingly caress the face of the guy next to him (Bones, did he say? Strange name, that) before running my hand down his arm to snag the hipflask he had with him away from him. I quickly opened it and took a hearty gulp of the liquid inside and grinned as I recognised the taste of bourbon. Swallowing it before taking another generous mouthful, I handed the container back to be greeted by shocked looks from not only those two, but most of the other cadets nearby; all except for one woman sat across from us, who gave me a thumbs up and a smile.

"Finest Kentucky bourbon? Bones, you have excellent taste... I rather think we could be friends." Gracing him with my most attractive smile, I then turned back to his companion. "I believe it would be the other way around dear... You wouldn't be able to handle me. I'm Claire, Claire Shaw. You are?"

"Jim Kirk at your service, ma'am." He raised my hand to his lips to press a kiss onto my knuckles, before casting an appraising look over me with those gorgeous blue eyes of his. "Hmm, impressive. Where've you been all of my life, eh?"

Luckily, Bones chose that moment to retch loudly and caused Jim to jump, letting go of my hand and turning to his new acquaintance.

"Bones, seriously, warn a guy when you're about to nearly throw up on them!"

I took the opportunity to give the cocky cadet the once over, and I was impressed. Blond hair, brilliant blue eyes and a strong jaw, he could quite easily be classed as 'perfection' – and that was just his face. Beneath the bloody t-shirt he seemed to be hiding quite the body; muscular, but not to the point of being too overdone. It was a shame about his attitude, really, otherwise he'd have definitely been a contender for my affections.

The woman across the aisle had caught me looking, and when I caught her eye next she motioned to Kirk, then back to me, then gave me a questioning look; I replied by shrugging and then shaking my head slightly, which caused her to laugh and nod. I gave her another grin in reply, and then settled back to enjoy the rest of the ride.


End file.
